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Art. XIV.—The Madhura Sutta concerning Caste

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Extract

The Sutta of which the Pāli text and commentary, together with a translation, are here given, is No. 84 of the Majjhima Nikāya. In addition to the interest which attends every addition to our knowledge of the great canonical books of primitive Buddhism, this Sutta may claim a twofold interest of its own, derived (i.) from the form in which the dialogue is cast, and (ii.) from its subject.

Type
Original Communications
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1894

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References

page 341 note 1 Analysed in Miss Foley's article in this year's J.R.A.S.

page 342 note 1 As the Sutta has not yet been edited, I give an extract from the Pāli text—

“Cattāro 'me, mahārāja, vaṇṇā—khattiyā brāhmaṇā vessā suddā. Imesam kho, mahārāja, catunnaṁ vaṇṇānaṁ dve vaṇṇā aggam akkhāyanti,—khattiyā ca brāhmaṇā ca—yadidaṁ abhivādana-paccupaṭṭhān-ajalikamma-sāmīcikammanti.”

“Nāhaṁ, bhante, Bhagavantaṁ diṭṭhadhammikaṁ pucchāmi; samparāyikāhaṁ, bhante, Bhagavantam pucchāmi.”

page 343 note 1 This conflicts with Prof. Rhys Davids' statement (Hibbert Lectures, 1881, p. 24) that at the rise of Buddhism “no kshatriya could any longer become a, brāhman.”

page 344 note 1 It occurs in the Majjhima and Saṁyutta Nikāyas, as well as in the above passage in the Dīgha.

page 344 note 2 At page 239 of his Buddhism, Bishop Copleston strangely mistakes Brahmuno for brāhmaṇena, and translates “It was a brahman”!

page 344 note 3 In note 14 to page 38 of his Vishńu Puráńa (London, 1840)Google Scholar, H. H. Wilson says:—“The Kaumāra creation is the creation of Rudra or Nílalohita, a form of S'iva, by Brahmá, which is subsequently described in our text, and of certain other mind-born sons of Brahmá, of whose birth the Vishńu Puráńa gives no further account: they are elsewhere termed Sanat-kumára, Sananda, Sanaka, and Sanátana, with sometimes a fifth, Ribhu, added. These declining to create progeny, remained, as the name of the first implies ever boys, Kumáras: that is, ever pure and innocent; whence their creation is called the Kaumára… And the Linga has … ‘Being ever as he was born, he is here called a youth; and hence his name is well known as Sanat-kumára.’ This authority makes Sanatkumára and Ribhu the two first born of all; whilst the text of the Hari Vansalimits the primogeniture to Sanat-kumára. … Sanat-kumára and his brethren are always described in the Saiva Puráńas as Yogis: as the Kúrma, after enumerating them, adds: ‘These five, oh Brahmans, were Yogis, who acquired entire exemption from passion’ and the Hari Vansa, although rather Vaishnava than Saiva, observes that the Yogis celebrate these six, along with Kapila, in Yoga works.”

In Pāli, Sanat-kumāra becomes Sanaṃ-kumāra, still retaining the meaning of ς ᾰει πάρθενος Buddhaghosa, in his commentary on the above Pāli text as it occurs in the 53rd Sutta of the Majjhima Nikāya, says:—“Sanaṁ-Kcumārenāti porāṇaka-kumārena. Cirakālato paṭṭhāya ‘kumāro’ ti paññāto. So kira manussapathe pañca-cūḷaka-kumāra-kāle jhānam nibbattetvā aparihīnajjhāno brahmaloke nibbatti. Tassa so attabhāvo piyo ahosi manāpo; tasmā tādisena va attabhāvena carati. Tena taṁ ‘Sanaṁ-kumāro’ ti sañānanti.” (“Sanamkumāra means ‘The maid of yore.’ From very ancient days he has been known as ‘the Maid.’ Tradition says that, when among men in the epoch of the Five Little Maids (?=the five mind-born sons of Brahmā above), he grew to Insight, and, dying with Insight full and undimmed, was re-born in the Brahmā Realm. His old existence was so sweet and dear to him that it was always in such semblance that he went about. Therefore, he was known as Sanaṃ-kumāra.”)

page 346 note 1 See also the same legend in the ṣatapatha Brāhma็a.

page 348 note 1 Bishop Copleston (p. 234) states that “in Madhura Sutta (Mai. Nik. v. sic.) Gotama explains that all castes are ultimately equal, as the good, of whatever caste, will enjoy the like reward of their deeds in heaven, and the bad suffer alike in hell.”

page 349 note 1 Sctinsert Bhagavā.

page 349 note 2 Sct Gunadavane throughout.

page 349 note 3 Sct bhagavantaṁ.

page 349 note 4 Bmp kalyāṇapaṭibhāṇo.

page 349 note 5 Sc va.

page 349 note 6 Sct hoti.

page 350 note 1 Bmp bhadrāni bhadrāni yānāni abhirūhitvā Sc abhiruhitvā.

page 350 note 2 Bmp nāyyasi.

page 350 note 3 Bmp mahaccar°; St mahār°. Cf. Dīgha Nikāya, vol. i. p. 49, and Sumaṅgala-Vilāsinī, vol. i. p. 148.

page 350 note 4 Bmp samṃodaniyaṁ.

page 350 note 5 Bmp sāraṇīyaṁ.

page 350 note 6 Bmp vitisāretvā.

page 350 note 7 So Bu. and Bmp; Sct hīṇo throughout.

page 350 note 8 Bmpinsert va.

page 350 note 9 Sct putto orasa here, elsewhere putto orasā; Stomits Brahmuno, here only.

page 350 note 10 Sct iti.

page 350 note 11 Bmp akkhāyīti.

page 350 note 12 Bmp kiṁ here and subsequently.

page 350 note 13 Bmp Bu. and (here) Scwhich subsequently reads iccheyya; St iccheyya, corrected here from ij(jheyya).

page 350 note 14 Bmp pisassa throughout.

page 350 note 15 Sc pacchānīpātī; St BP pubbuṭṭhāyi—pacchanīpāti—K°.

page 350 note 16 Bp k—āvi.

page 351 note 1 Bp manāpacāri- throughout; Sthas the i short here only.

page 352 note 1 Sct tattha here only.

page 352 note 2 Sct sammā honti, here only.

page 352 note 3 Bm nesaṁ, BP nāham corrected to nesaṁ, Scthere nāsaṁ, elsewhere na 'sam, Bu. na 'saṁ.

page 352 note 4 Sc Bm pāṇātipātī; St pānātipāti here, elsewhere pāṇātipāti, but pānātipātā infra.

page 352 note 5 Bmp adinnādāyī.

page 352 note 6 St Bp micchācāri.

page 352 note 7 St Bp musāvādi throughout, Bm -di here only.

page 352 note 8 Bp pisunavāco; so Stusually.

page 352 note 9 Sct pharūsāvāco, BP pharusavāco.

page 352 note 10 Bmp abhijjhālu.

page 352 note 11 St BP micchādiṭṭhi.

page 352 note 12 Bmp upapajjeyya throughout.

page 352 note 13 Bmpinsert hi throughout.

page 353 note 1 Schere idh' assa; Sthere idhā[ssa brāhmaṇo], idh' assa vesso, idh' assa suddo; elsewhere idhāssa generally.

page 353 note 2 Bmpinsert la.

page 353 note 3 Bmpinsert micchādiṭṭhī.

page 353 note 4 Scomits hi.

page 353 note 5 Streads sādhu kho, mahārāja, arahataṁ sutaṁ.

page 353 note 6 Schas a lacuna between cattā(ro) and hotīti; Sthas a similar lacuna, but reads cattāro in full.

page 353 note 7 Scthave a lacuna here after 'saṁ down to Iminā.

page 353 note 8 Sc yemeso; St yeyemeso.

page 353 note 9 Sc pāṇātāpatī.

page 353 note 10 Bmp pisunāya.

page 353 note 11 Bmp pharusāya; Sct pharūsāvācāya.

page 353 note 12 Sct samphappalāpāya.

page 354 note 1 Bmp anabhijjhālu.

page 354 note 2 Sct sammādiṭṭthi.

page 354 note 3 Sct sādhuñ ca, and omit sutaṁ at the end of the sentence.

page 354 note 4 Sct yevameso.

page 355 note 1 Sct āgucāriṁ here.

page 355 note 2 Bmp panehīti; Sctinfra pāṇehīti.

page 355 note 3 Sc ghateyyāma; Bmp ghāteyyāma.

page 355 note 4 So all MSS. for jhāpeyyāma (?).

page 355 note 5 So Bmp; Scthere khattiyā ti maññā sāssā, infra samañña sassa.

page 355 note 6 Bmp tveva throughout.

page 355 note 7 Bmp saṇkhyaṃ throughout.

page 355 note 8 Bmp gacchati.

page 355 note 9 Sct yeso.

page 355 note 10 Sct vohāretvā.

page 355 note 11 St paṭivirato.

page 356 note 1 Bmpinsert rattuparato.

page 356 note 2 Scinserts vā.

page 356 note 3 So Bmp and Bu.; Sct vā.

page 356 note 4 Bmp gacchati.

page 356 note 5 Sctomit Madhuro Avantiputto.

page 357 note 1 Bmp nikujjitaṁ.

page 357 note 2 Bmp ukuijeyya.

page 357 note 3 Bmp muịhassa.

page 357 note 4 Sct rūpaṁ, and omit dakkhantīti.

page 357 note 5 Sct bho.

page 357 note 6 Bmp bhavantaṁ.

page 357 note 7 St pān°.

page 357 note 8 Bmp tam etaṁ.

page 357 note 9 Bmpomit.

page 357 note 10 So Sctthroughout both here and in Sutta 94; Bmp pi.

page 357 note 11 Sct dassu.

page 357 note 12 Bmp tiṁsāya.

page 357 note 13 Bmp cattārisāya.

page 357 note 14 So Bmp; Scthere paññāsā pi, but in Sutta No. 94 Screads paññāsam pi.

page 357 note 15 Sctomit here and in Sutta No. 94.

page 357 note 16 So all MSS., instead of hi (?), as read by BP. in No. 94.

page 357 note 17 So Schere and in No. 94; Bmpomit here, but in No. 94 BPinserts kho after parinibbuto.

page 358 note 1 Bmp parinibbutaṁ.

page 358 note 2 Bmpomit. [In No. 94 Screads (ma-)yan taṁ].

page 358 note 3 So Schere and in No. 94; Bmp St Supāsakaṁ.

page 358 note 4 So Bmpand Scin No. 94; here Screads saraṇagatan.

page 358 note 5 So Bu. and BP, as also Hardy's Manual; Sctand Bmread Madhuriya.

page 358 note 6 Sc Bmp suttantaṁ; Bu. suttaṁ; St suttamntaṁ.

page 358 note 7 Bmpomit.

page 359 note 1 S* māno-.

page 359 note 2 S* ṇa.

page 359 note 3 S* ahaṁ. The reading adopted is from the parallel passage in the Sumangala-Vilāsinī, I. 169.

page 359 note 1 S* guttī here and gutti subsequently; Sum. Vil. reads guttin.